Don't mean to scare anyone. But I saw this statistics on a website and wonder what are some reasons that people die from dialysis and more importantly, how to prevent those cases?
"After one year of treatment, those on dialysis have a 20-25% mortality rate, with a 5-year survival rate of 35%. Persons who receive transplants have a 3% mortality rate after 5 years."
It would not be wise for anyone here to give you that information. The persons who had difficulty could have had other health issues that caused the problem or so many other factors it would be inappropriate to hazard a guess. My suggestion is to speak to your physician and have a frank conversation about your concerns. Another thing you can do is call your local dialysis center and ask permission to stop by and visit and perhaps you can visit with patients there and ask them what they think about the dialysis treatment. One word of caution, don't bring up your concerns or fears to the patients.
Thank you Mr Kidney. You echoed my thoughts on this.
It certainly varies from one person to another.
My father was one of the first people to dialyse at home in the early 1970s and even then, it gave him an extra 20 years of life. Long enough to see us all grow up and to enjoy his retirement.
He didn't even die of kidney failure.
Kidney failure certainly reduces life expectancy as do many other diseases but this depends on many other factors.
We are after all, individuals.
My best wishes
Mgt
Mgt. and Mr._Kidney, You are so right. One size does not fit all.
When in doubt, call or make an appointment to see your doctor. There are many discussions on this site, but they cannot replace the direct contact with your medical team as they have your labs etc. in front of them and are better suited to answer your questions.
Mgt. I am so sorry about your dad; it is never easy. I can see that life gave him challenges that he hurdled gracefully and many good times and memories that both he and your family must be grateful for.
Thank you for sharing.
Well stated as always.
Every patient and every medical facility is different.
Doing your homework is the first step.
Thanks, Mr._ K
Hi Curiousmind,
What a waste of time statistic. Its like this statistic that 73% of people will live to 70....which mean 27% won't. Silly... don't sit there and fret over this.
data.worldbank.org/indicato...
Thanks Bassetmommer. That's a good way to look at it.
Absolutely!
Don't want to depress anyone, but I heard that 1 in 5 people on dialysis commits suicide, so if you could maybe get therapy for depression that might improve those statistics you mentioned
Turn your statistic around. Four out of five people on dialysis don't commit suicide. There are countless reasons why someone may make that choice and none of them may be related to being on dialysis. If that is something you are thinking about doing more research on the various modalities of dialysis. If you do that and make the best choice to match your preferred lifestyle you lessen the likelihood that dialysis will be so intrusive that a person would consider such a drastic course.
I didn't say 4 out of 5... I said ONE out of five, that is very different. I also said I heard that somewhere, I didn't say I know it is a fact.
Perhaps you didn't read my post carefully. The first sentence said, "Turn your statistic around." That makes one out of five into four out of five. Perhaps now you'll better understand what I was saying. Hope this helps you understand that whether you heard it or read it, the statistic is not valid without knowing all of the facts that went into someones decision to take their own life. Have a good day.
I guess I'm not understanding why you said "turn your statistic around." I know that people commit suicide for many different reasons; both my parents committed suicide so I'm very familiar with it. I just read somewhere that dialysis is so miserable and usually means you're coming to the end of your life that many people commit suicide for that reason. A lot of people live many years after being on dialysis, but I just wanted to throw in there that it probably is ONE reason...not the ONLY reason.
According to your post, wherever it came from, one out of every five people, or 20%, on dialysis commit suicide. When I said, "turn that around" that meant that four of five people on dialysis do not commit suicide. I'm sorry to hear that your parents chose that route but what I was pointing out was that four out of five, or 80% of the people on dialysis DO NOT commit suicide. Statistics can be used in a variety of ways. Your use of it was too negative for what we try to convey in this community. When I turned it around I was trying to show that 80% of the people on dialysis do not take that step. It's a more positive way of giving information.
For that 20%, there were probably many other reasons for them resorting to such a drastic measure.
I have CKD, dialysis is the option available to me to continue living the life I'm living. It happens to be a good one and I don't want to give it up anytime soon. I'm not, for a variety of personal reasons, not a candidate for transplant, so I spent a lot of time researching the dialysis options available to me.
Currently, I'm traveling and just this morning I took a drive along Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. It's June 7th, but I took a short walk along one trail through knee deep snow at about 12,000 feet up. If I have to go on dialysis, I will choose HHD (Home HemoDialysis). Should the time come when I need dialysis, I can spend the morning doing what I just finished and dialyze in my RV. That's why dialysis will give me the option to continue doing what I enjoy doing and the same for others who select dialysis as a way to continue with the life they have.
Ah, OK I totally see what you meant now. I'm sorry for the confusion! I was just really trying to give people other reasons for the death rate to the person who originally posted. In other words, many people who supposedly die while on dialysis CHOOSE to die, not die because of the dialysis itself. That may have sounded negative, but I did not mean it to come through that way. The original post says there's a 20-25% mortality rate, so I was just saying that maybe some of those people chose to die, not that the dialysis caused the death.
Absolutely! Generally those who take their own lives have many hidden agendas and issues.
they may have been suicidal personalities even without kidney disease or dialysis.
i am wondering why this topic is important....people struggling with CKD and treatment options have enough to deal with...its not the end of your life anymore than a car wreck tomorrow...no one knows how long they will live whether they are sick or not...Kidney Patients are NOT statistics..they are people who are making the best out of cards dealt...we can get busy living or get busy dying
My thoughts exactly!
speaking about statistics, i have read countless times , on several ckd websites , articles and studies that 1 in 5 ckd patients move on to esrd. it appears to me , reading this site and others where actual patients are highly participatory that the number far surpasses 1 in 5. i often wonder if the members of these sites are generally sicker than average ?
GFR of 5 To start dialysis or not
Beginning Peritoneal Dialysis
Have to start dialysis soon
Pre Dialysis and scared!!
Dialysis is upon me! 
